I read the children’s classic version of this book back when I was about 8 years old. Since then I had always assumed that somewhere out there lurked the “real” version, which in my mind was pictured to both look and read similar to “The Three Musketeers” or “Moby Dick.” When I finally got around to reading the “adult version,” I laughed when I realized that this is still a children’s novel. It’s an old fashioned action adventure clearly written with little boys about the age of 12 in mind.

The short summary: Jim, is a preteen who lives with his parents at the little inn and tavern that they own. A rough and unruly customer comes to stay with them, a salty old pirate with inappropriate stories and foul drinking songs. Jim is enthralled with the man and befriends him; the old crusty pirate even pays Jim to “Keep an eye out for a man with one leg.” When the rest of the pirates locate the inn where Jim and his family live, they make an appearance, demanding something that the old pirate had taken from them. Through an act of both luck and bravery, Jim and his mother escape the pirates and take with them the hidden object – a map showing the location of an enormous buried treasure. Jim, the good Doctor, and a few other individuals from town decide to rent a boat to go after the treasure… but when they start their voyage, a man with one leg joins the boat as the cook and the rest of the crew isn’t behaving quite properly. The rest of the tale involves mutiny, back stabbing, treachery, treasure, gunfights, castaways and adventure of the highest caliber.

This is one of the most well written adventure novels I have ever read, and I have encouraged my 10 year old son to try to give it a read. Back when this was written, I would assume that every 9-12 year old little boy (and many little girls as well) probably lay in their beds at night reading and dreaming of being whisked away by pirates to find buried treasure. Since then our language has changed so dramatically that I believe that the under 12 crew may have difficulty with some of the phrasing and word choices in this novel. If giving this to a younger child, I would plan to work with them through some of the tougher portions, specifically the technical bits about the ship (explaining what a mizzenmast is) and some of the pirate’s dialogue which is often written phonetically. You can solve the pirate problem by telling them to read it aloud and try to sound like Captain Jack Sparrow from “Pirates of the Caribbean.” My son had a much easier time when I would read those passages to him doing a pirate accent.

Even if your much older than 12, I still highly recommend reading this, it is a quick read with a truly fairytale ending. The good guys win and the bad guys lose and the moral of the story is honor, duty, keeping your word, and being a good person will bring you good fortune, whereas acting like a despicable pirate will only bring you down in the end. There also seems to be a fairly strong anti-alcohol message in the book, as the good guys capitalize on the intoxication of the pirates over and over and rarely drink the stuff themselves. It’s not beaten over your head… but it might just be strong enough to make the little ones think “Well I’m not going to do that!”

I couldn’t recommend this story enough, for individuals of all ages; we are planning on reading it out loud at bedtime so that our 7 year old can enjoy the dreams of buried treasure and pirates. There is a reason this tale has stood the test of time, and I suggest reading it yourself, and with your little ones if you have any.

Parent note- in my summary I stated that the Pirate sings foul songs and tells inappropriate stories, these are not related in the book and are only reference in the fact that Jim’s mother is horrified that the pirate tells him such things. So you don’t have to worry about profanity or any other lewd discussions.